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Now: Manhunt Underway In Shootings Of Minnesota Lawmakers; U.S. Scrambles As Israel & Iran Trade Overnight Attacks; Trump Hosts Military Parade Amid Massive Nationwide Protests; Interview with Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN); Trump's Travel Ban and Visa Delays Could Impact World Cup. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired June 15, 2025 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

[08:00:31]

MANU RAJU, CNN HOST (voice-over): Shocking killings. The shooting of two lawmakers jolts an uneasy nation.

BOB JACOBSON, COMMISSIONER OF THE MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: This is a dark day today for Minnesota and for democracy.

RAJU: What's the latest on the manhunt? Minnesota Senator Tina Smith joins me live.

Plus, on edge Israel and Iran trade unprecedented blows.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We will not let the world's most dangerous regime get the world's most dangerous weapons.

RAJU: But as the fighting rages on, can the U.S. prevent a wider war.

And split screen. Trump gets his parade as his military crackdown sparks nationwide protests.

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: He's not a monarch. He is not a king. And he should stop acting like one.

RAJU: Can Democrats seize the moment?

INSIDE POLITICS, the best reporting from inside the corridors of power, starts now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RAJU (on camera): Good morning. Welcome to INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY. I'm Manu Raju.

This has been a weekend of major breaking stories on multiple fronts, putting an already jittery nation on edge. First, a massive manhunt is underway for an alleged assassin, 57-year-

old Vance Boelter, who's suspected of dressing as a police officer and shooting two state lawmakers in Minnesota, including killing the top Democrat in the state house, Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. It's an attack that authorities call politically motivated, as incidents of political violence have now become all too common in the United States.

Also overnight, the escalating crisis in the Middle East is Israel and Iran pound each other with deadly strikes, putting President Trump squarely in the middle. with no end in sight.

And then here at home, the use of the U.S. military front and center. Thousands of Americans demonstrated against what they see as a march towards authoritarianism, as Trump hosted a parade in Washington to celebrate the Army's 250th birthday.

There is a lot to get to this morning, but let's begin in Blaine, Minnesota, where CNN's Danny Freeman is live with the latest on the investigation in this manhunt that is now in full swing.

So, Danny, tell us what the latest is.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure thing, Manu. Well, it's been now more than 24 hours since that man, 57-year-old Vance Boelter, allegedly opened fire on those two lawmakers just outside of Minneapolis. And as you noted, that manhunt still now very underway as it moves into its second day.

Some of the latest information, Manu, that we have is the FBI put out a number of photos, photos yesterday afternoon of the suspect that they're looking for. One showing Boelter wearing a cowboy hat just a few hours after the shooting, and then another that was very harrowing, appearing to show Boelter in front of these lawmakers homes, wearing what looks like a mask over his face, also dressed in tactical gear.

The FBI saying they're using every available resource to find the suspect. Border Patrol at this hour, Manu, also on high alert. And of course, this entire state community really mourning the loss of Representative -- State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, both an incredible presence here, certainly in Democratic politics. State Rep Hortman known as a fighter, also a mother who loved her family very, very deeply.

State Senator John Hoffman, his wife Yvette. They were also shot as well. They are out of surgery, though they're recovering at this moment. We're still waiting for more details on how they're doing after that horrific shooting. But again, a lot of open questions right now, Manu, on the ground as that manhunt continues into its second day.

RAJU: All right. Danny Freeman live in Blaine, Minnesota, with the latest. Thank you for that report.

And I want to bring in CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller.

John, it has now been more than 24 hours since the manhunt began for this suspected shooter. What does it tell you about the way that this search is unfolding?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELIGENCE ANALYST: Well, it's very difficult. Once you have somebody where you thought you had them trapped in the house, then you find out he ran out the back of the house. Then you thought he would be trapped within a small perimeter, and then you find out through great investigative work, and you're looking at that picture right now that he's photographed in a commercial location in Minneapolis.

So, he's covered some ground. He's escaped the perimeter, and he's found his way into a large city, a city with the ability to disappear into crowds, a city with access to bus lines that could put real distance between him and the search.

[08:05:03]

A city where he could have obtained a car and headed for the border. Although, as you pointed out, the border patrol, the airports are on the alert. So that's going to be a challenge.

But at the same time, as we learn from these cases, it's hard to run without leaving that digital trail. Whether its cell phone towers, credit cards, cash machines. So, they are literally, as Danny said, using every resource that's available to them.

RAJU: Yeah. And John, a law enforcement official, told CNN that authorities found a hit list with nearly 70 targets, including Democratic lawmakers and abortion providers. What are you hearing from your sources about any possible motive?

MILLER: Well, we don't know. But the makeup of the hit list probably provides our best clues so far, which is it is made up of Democratic members of the Minnesota state legislature. It is made up of Democratic members of Congress. It is made up of Democratic officials, not just in Minnesota, but in Iowa and Michigan. So that is one clue.

The other thing is, sprinkled among those names are also pro-choice organizations, particular medical doctors, particular clinics that provide abortions. So, it's not crystal clear as to whether this is an animus towards the Democratic Party, Democratic values or whether it's the other way around, which is the motive focused on abortion and Democrats who support pro-choice agenda don't know that yet.

But that is within the hit list. The pointers and we still don't know what was the stressor that took an individual who had a security company, who was struggling for to find work and have financial problems, but who, up until a couple of years ago served on a board under a Democratic governor, Tim Walz, a labor -- a labor development board, along with Senator Hoffman.

So, it's in there. But if they find the suspect and he's alive, we may -- we may learn more about that. RAJU: All right. John Miller, thank you so much for your expertise.

Appreciate your analysis on that and your latest reporting.

And to break this all down, I'm joined by an excellent panel this morning, CNN's Jeff Zeleny, "The Wall Street Journal's" Molly Ball and David Sanger of "The New York Times".

Good morning.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

RAJU: Heavy stuff.

I mean, this is just really the amount of political violence that we have seen in this country is unbelievable. It's really notable. I mean, just in the past decade and a half or so, ever since the Gabby Giffords shooting in Arizona, we've seen incident after incident after incident.

Even just this year, Governor Shapiro in Pennsylvania, his home was set on fire. Of course, the two assassination attempts for Donald Trump, the Nancy Pelosi's husband, attacked with a hammer. Steve Scalise, the former -- the current House majority leader, shot at a congressional baseball practice.

What does that tell you about the state of our politics?

MOLLY BALL, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, WALL STREET JOURNAL: Well, and those are only the attacks on politicians, right? I mean, we had the violent attack on pro-Israel demonstrators just a few weeks ago. We see protests turning violent.

I think there's a feeling in America like the whole country is a bit of a tinderbox right now. I found it especially chilling to realize that yesterday was the eighth anniversary of that shooting at the congressional. Baseball team, that baseball practice that.

RAJU: Can't believe it's been eight years already. Yeah.

BALL: Congressman Scalise, so, you know, I think everywhere you go in America, yes, people are angry. Yes, people feel a sense of crisis in many cases. But people also are very, I think, alarmed by the way that these -- the heightening of the temperature and the feeling that things can just escalate so unpredictably and the feeling that it is dangerous to be involved in politics. Right?

And you had many of the commentators yesterday saying, we can't live in a country where people are afraid to express their political views or become involved in electoral politics because of these threats. But every lawmaker, you know, is -- has security around them, is dealing with threats because they've decided to try to make their voice heard. Judges, same thing. So it's just a really scary time.

RAJU: It's a dangerous time to be a politician in America.

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL & NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: It is. And what has also struck me is the changed nature of the reaction. You know, when Gabby Giffords was shot in that awful shooting, outside near a parking lot, you remember like the country seemed to stop for a bit. The president was out speaking a lot about it at the time.

[08:10:01]

There were the usual discussions about gun control issues and you know, so forth. Here, there was a brief statement by the president when he was asked. He didn't discuss it in the -- at the opening of the parade.

There's sort of a sense here that people sort of shrug and move on, shake their head. They don't approve of it by any means, but it does not quite have the shock effect that it used to.

RAJU: Yeah, I mean Trump he last night he was asked about it. He said made a brief comment. He said it was absolutely terrible. Absolutely terrible.

And they're looking for that particular man right now. He did post on social statement yesterday about what happened as well. But do we expect Trump to say more about this?

ZELENY: We'll see. I mean, as David said, he had the opportunity obviously at his remarks last evening at the parade. He didn't, you know, which that was obviously a pre-written speech. But look, he knows the political violence because he has had two assassination attempts on his life as well.

I mean, what it strikes me is just the march over time from we started with the Columbine shooting back in 1997. I believe if I'm -- '99.

And that was shocking. Obviously, that was just the most shocking. And then sandy hook, obviously, and several in between. And there is a numbness that is set in. And we're seeing, I think, the same thing with the political violence. So, one thing I was struck by in all of the statements in Minnesota is still a place where, yes, the divisions are very deep. The House was perfectly divided and through a sharing agreement, Representative Hortman was -- had been the speaker but worked with her Republican colleagues. There was a joint statement very quickly put out by Republicans and Democrats.

But the Republican governor of South Dakota, neighboring South Dakota, put out a statement saying violence has no place in our political system. It must end and lowered flags to half-staff.

I did not see a similar statement from the Iowa governor or others, so I just think that there is still a sense of shock out there. Theres no question about it. But going forward here, I do feel that, and there's a sense of numbness that sets into these and it's horrific.

RAJU: It really is. And it's becoming all too common.

All right. We're going to have a lot more to discuss about this, including with the Minnesota Senator Tina Smith, who's going to join me live to discuss the latest. And also, President Trump is facing another crisis as Israel and Iran continue to exchange unprecedented strikes. What Trump said overnight about the attacks.

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[08:16:59]

RAJU: Overnight, a new wave of deadly attacks between Israel and Iran has kept the world on edge. Israel is saying it's used 200 jet fighter jets and dropped 330 munitions on missile launch facilities and an oil depot across Iran, while an Iranian projectile struck a building in central Israel. And that's according to Israeli officials.

And now sources tell CNN that Israel's operation could take weeks and that its moving forward with battle plans against Iran, with implicit approval from the U.S. all is high stakes talks between the U.S. and Iran over its nuclear program were scheduled for today, and then abruptly canceled.

My excellent panel is back.

So, what about Trump's handling of all this? At 12:32 this morning, he posted this on Truth Social, saying the U.S. had nothing to do with the attack on Iran tonight. He said he went on to warn Iran against attacking the United States. And he says we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel and end this bloody conflict.

What do you make of the way the president is handling this?

SANGER: Well, first break that down. The U.S. had nothing to do with it. It's a different thing than the U.S. did not know about it. And clearly, Prime Minister Netanyahu had been pressing President Trump for months to free him up to do an attack on Iran at a moment that the country was at its weakest and most vulnerable. It lost its air defenses. And its proxy forces.

He clearly by the time he was at Camp David last weekend or on the phone with the prime minister on Monday, knew this was coming and he said it himself later on.

So, to the Iranians, that will look like he was moving toward this negotiation that was supposed to happen today in a sort of deceptive manner. I'm not sure that's necessarily accurate, but that's certainly the Iranian view.

The second part, where he warns them about striking the United States. What that is, is, as the United States helps defend Israel from those incoming missiles, if Iran responds by striking American bases, which are all within easy missile range for the Iranians, he wants to say that would bring the United States into it.

The third part of this is the most confounding, where he says, we can end this easily. Well, if they --

RAJU: We heard that before from other problems --

SANGER: Right, 24 hours in Ukraine, you know, the list.

RAJU: Right.

SANGER: But I think the real concern here that the U.S. has is, is if Netanyahu's actual objective here is to wipe out the entire nuclear infrastructure in Iran, that is a long operation, and we are nowhere close to that.

RAJU: I mean, that's the thing. It could take a significant amount of time. So how long can Trump stay in this sort of middle ground that he's trying to be in sort of, you know, giving tacit approval of what Israel is doing, but not embracing it, and also warning Iran, how long can he play this?

[08:20:03]

ZELENY: Warning Iran, but also keeping the door open to talks about their nuclear program? I mean, that is what was scheduled to be happening today on this Sunday in Oman. Steve Witkoff, the president's envoy to the Middle East and other places was scheduled to have another round of talks. Obviously, that did not happen.

But the president in other posts over the weekend left open the idea that Iran has an exit ramp here. If they would like to take it. That seems highly unlikely to me.

But in a phone call yesterday that the U.S. president had with Vladimir Putin, the one of the readouts from the American side was their agreement that this war must end, in Israel and Iran. So that is very much an open question.

But as the president heads off to the G7 meeting in Canada, he'll be leaving later today. That certainly changes some of the focus of the conversation. Ukraine, obviously front and center here, but the foreign policy challenges are adding up for the Trump administration.

President Zelenskyy is going to be in Canada. He'll likely meet with the U.S. president as well. Again, this is I was thinking back last night during the military parade to the president's inaugural address, and he talked about being a peacemaker. That was one of his goals for his administration.

We're about six months in, and the world is raging much more than he would like.

RAJU: Yeah. And how do his MAGA allies feel about this, too? Some of them --

ZELENY: True divide.

RAJU: There's a real divide.

And this is what Tucker Carlson said on Friday. He said it's not America's fight. Engaging in it would be a middle finger in the faces of the millions of voters who cast their ballots in hopes of creating a government that would finally put the United States first.

Charlie Kirk offered his own view of this. He said it is historically little support for America to be actively engaged in yet another, what he called an offensive war in the U.S.

But then on Capitol Hill, you have the speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, very much in line with Donald Trump and in line with Israel, what he says needed to take action to defend itself. Lindsey Graham, also on the same page, probably explains why Trump is kind of caught in the middle here.

BALL: He's clearly caught in the middle. You know, it's very easy to say that this war must end. It's then very difficult to take action when that doesn't happen without your help. It's -- he's facing a lot of very difficult choices here about whether and how to involve the U.S.

He's already made an ultimatum that essentially failed. That's what this is. He said multiple times. They had 60 days, and this was day 61.

And so, once that ultimatum has failed, then what do you do? How much is he willing to let the U.S. get dragged into this conflict or the others? You know, he's promised not only to be a peacemaker, but a noninterventionist. And he made that promise in a speech in the Middle East.

So, I think this is a potentially a very difficult situation for the Trump administration. And for the president, as you said, who is now facing these conflicts all over the world that continue to become more complex and more of a quagmire instead of less.

RAJU: This is what your colleague Peter Baker wrote in "The New York Times". He said Trump relishes -- the headline was: Trump relishes troops in American streets while shunning conflict overseas. They went on to say in this piece, he seems more willing at the moment to use the military against Americans than against the Iranians.

SANGER: That's right, because that does not get you into the middle of that divide, that that Jeff and Molly have been discussing.

But, you know, the whole -- that whole discussion about intervention changes when the topic is nuclear weapons, for the same reason that he had to threaten and then negotiate with Kim Jong Un in the first term. He's got to worry about Iran in the second term. Nuclear weapons don't tend to stay wherever it is that they are developed, and that's why he has, from the start here, been caught between his more isolationist wing and a wing that has said traditionally, the United States to defend itself, makes sure that rogue states, states that are run by unaccountable authoritarians don't get nukes. We already had a massive failure with that, with North Korea, which now has 60 to 100.

President Trump has got to worry about whether or not Iran emerges from this at the end of whatever this conflict is. Having taken the program underground and 5 or 10 years from now reemerges with a nuclear weapon because you can get bombed, but you don't forget how to make them.

RAJU: Yeah, it's fascinating as this is going to go on for a while. So, we'll see how Trump's response evolves. All right. Next, thousands protested President Trump and his

administration across the country as a military paraded down the streets of D.C.

[08:25:02]

Our panelists were there. They have analysis. That's coming up.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Every other country celebrates their victories. It's about time. America did, too.

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[08:30:00]

RAJU: It was quite a scene yesterday in the nation's capital, where long rows of tanks and armored vehicles joined thousands of soldiers marching down the streets of Washington.

It was a celebration to mark the 250th anniversary of the army. It also happened to coincide with President Trump's 79th birthday. But as Trump was celebrating, thousands of Americans were protesting its so- called, quote, "No Kings" demonstrations and what organizers said was meant to denounce Trump's, quote, "militarization of our democracy" as they accused him of a march towards authoritarianism.

Law enforcement did describe those protests as largely peaceful, although there were some clashes with police and some arrests.

My panel is back with me.

So there were a lot of protests yesterday, more than 2,000 of these rallies in a lot of big cities as you can see there on the map on your screen.

Jeff, you were there. You were covering it yesterday here in Washington. What was your take from the events from yesterday?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Look, a lot of pent-up frustration. These protests and the reasons behind them really have been gathering for several months. That's been one of the sort of differences between this administration and eight years ago.

The protests really have not materialized as much this time around as they did at the very beginning of the Trump administration. So yesterday was an example. And, as you said, very largely peaceful protests.

Yes, there were some skirmishes in Los Angeles, some issues in Seattle and Portland, but by and large and in small towns as well, just looking on social media and talking with contacts and sources throughout the country. Some very small towns had these rallies as well.

Look, the White House clearly wanted the focus to be on the president and the military parade. But the crowd did not materialize as much in Washington as the White House and some were hoping.

Of course, he could build a large crowd. Weve seen that. That's been well established. It was very difficult to get around with the traffic and security and things.

But I think taken together, just the split screen images, a phrase we often overuse but in this case it actually was happening, is very clear.

And the president, you know, when you layer on the Minnesota violence on top of it, it really shows the divide and divisions in this country. And we've seen very little effort or interest from the administration in terms of trying to reach out and expand and heal this divide.

MOLLY BALL, WALL STREET JOURNAL: Yes, I agree with all of that. You know, I think also for Democrats who have been struggling to find their footing since the beginning of the second Trump administration, you know, this is something that occurred largely outside the purview of the Democratic Party.

But there is a feeling that that organic resistance is now finding its voice in a way that, at least to many people on the left, feels constructive, feels like a way that they can fight back that actually demonstrates a sort of American unity.

It was interesting to me, being at the parade that, you know, this wasn't a MAGA crowd. It wasn't a resistance crowd either.

There were a lot of people there who were just fans of the military, or who just happened to be in Washington with their families. And they were sort of coexisting very peacefully there on, on the lawn by the, by the Washington Monument.

You had people holding some of the "No Kings" signs inside the parade perimeter, and they were side by side with people in MAGA hats, and they were all enjoying sort of watching the tanks roll by.

And I spoke to a few people who said, yes, you know, I didn't vote for the guy, but I think the tanks are kind of cool and it doesn't really feel like North Korea to me or whatever people were saying. So there was this feeling of just people sort of expressing themselves.

RAJU: Yes. And how did the American public view it is the military played a good use of government funds. The number of Independents on this poll from AP. 80 percent said, no, not a good use of government funds. That's the Independent number. Different among Republicans and Democrats, of course.

And Trump's military parade cost about $45 million. That's not chump change. I mean, in Washington, it's chump change.

ZELENY: Right.

RAJU: For normal people. It's not chump change.

DAVID SANGER, NEW YORK TIMES WHITE HOUSE AND NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: I mean, I think what's most striking about that is you think about the things that the president has cut, that cost around that, or a piece of that, you know, Voice of America had a budget of maybe five times that. But, you know, you can imagine the national purpose of having a news organization, you know, talking to the world.

What struck me about the parade were a few things. First, as Molly said, it was pretty nonpartisan, and so was the president's speech. He did not do what he did at Fort Bragg, right. And I think that was sort of a relief to everybody, given the nature of the celebration.

But what the speech also didn't do was talk about the purpose of the U.S. Army and more broadly, the military. It talked about their victories, how no one would ever go challenge them. It was pretty martial in its discussion.

But remember that one of the reasons that the Second Continental Congress hesitated to put together that first army was they didn't want an army that could be used inside what, the colonies.

RAJU: Yes.

[08:34:51]

SANGER: Right.

RAJU: Right.

SANGER: And when you go back and you read their debates, that was a big part of it. And that's exactly the argument that we are back having today, 250 years later.

RAJU: Everything goes -- everything goes full circle.

Now, as we talk about the protests. Of course, the big reason why these protests have happened was about all the deportation, Trump's deportation policies, everything that's happening with ICE that led to what happened in Los Angeles and President Trump federalizing the National Guard. They're sending in Marines into L.A.

So how do voters view Trump's handling of immigration and deportation? He's underwater according to Quinnipiac poll, down 54 percent disapprove of immigration, 56 percent in that poll disapprove of the deportations and about sending military to Los Angeles.

Also, the Independent number shows he's underwater. 48 percent oppose that among Independents.

So is this why Trump appears to be -- is he moderating to some extent on the issue of immigration? This is what he said about on a Truth Social post last week about deporting farm workers and people who work in hotels, he said, "Our great farmers and people in the hotel and leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good longtime workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace."

What explains this shift?

ZELENY: I mean, what explains the shift is the president's own supporters from red states largely, and an industry he's very familiar with, the hotel business that they have been complaining, and they're worried about their businesses.

This has always been a concern among Republican business owners and others from picking tomatoes to milking cows to a variety of other things. Who is going to do these jobs?

So yes, the president was reelected on the issue of immigration. That was largely a crackdown on the border, not necessarily what we're seeing now.

So this is a fascinating development. We shall see.

RAJU: And this will be --

(CROSSTALKING)

RAJU: It's going to cause blowback among the right.

ZELENY: Because Stephen Miller and some people in the White House are opposed to this. So where this goes from here is going to be interesting.

BALL: Exactly. It's very similar actually to the debate we were talking about within the administration over foreign policy, where you have a MAGA base that wants to see every single illegal immigrant deported.

And in fact, a couple of hours after he sent that social media post, the president sent another one saying, we are going to deport every single last one of them. And then he backed off the policy.

So you clearly have this internal tension in MAGA world between the immigration hawks who really want to step up this very controversial interior enforcement strategy and the -- and the president's allies in the business and agriculture communities who are pushing him in the other direction.

I think we don't know which way it's going to go.

RAJU: We'll see how long he sticks to that or if he shifts back.

All right. Coming up next. Police say the alleged killer in Minnesota had a manifesto to carry out a rampage against sitting Democratic politicians. I'm speaking to one Minnesotan who is apparently on that list. She joins me live next.

[08:37:56]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RAJU: A law enforcement official tells CNN that authorities investigating the shooting of two lawmakers in Minnesota found a hit list with nearly 70 different targets in the suspect's car. And the source said that all of the Democratic members of Minnesota's congressional delegation were on the suspect's alleged target list.

Joining me now is one of the Democratic senators from Minnesota who has been deeply affected by this horrific tragedy, Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota.

Senator Smith, we are so sorry for what your state is going through. We appreciate you joining us this morning. We know this has been hitting you on a very personal level.

You just saw both senator, Representative Hortman and Senator Hoffman just hours before the shooting. Tell us about that.

SEN. TINA SMITH (D-MN): Well, every year we have a big Democratic dinner. It's called the Humphrey Mondale dinner. And we usually have well over a thousand people who were there, including me and Senator Klobuchar. Governor Walz was there, of course. A large group of people that are activists and organizers and supporters of the party.

And of course, Speaker Emeritus Hortman was there and also her husband, Mark, and John Hoffman and Yvette Hoffman, who were also viciously attacked on their doorsteps later that same night. So it feels so personal because we're all very good friends, of course, to have that have happened so shortly after we were all together.

RAJU: Senator, I have to ask you about the news that you were on the list of the suspected assassin's targets. What is your reaction to that news?

SMITH: Well, of course, it's so deeply concerning. There were a number of us that were on this list, and I want to just do a huge shout out and thank you to the unbelievable efforts of local law enforcement in the metro area and the FBI and others that were so quick to respond and think ahead to what would be happening with this terrible attack.

And I'm very grateful for the law enforcement folks that have been keeping me and my family safe, because of course, we still don't know where this assassin is. He has not yet been -- not yet been found.

[08:44:46]

RAJU: Yes. If you could take our viewers through the events of yesterday, from the moment you learned of these horrific shootings to the briefings you had yesterday. And what are you learning about where things are in the search for the suspect?

SMITH: Well, I woke up at around 7:15 yesterday morning to find that I had a huge number of texts. I don't usually sleep with my phone right next to my bed.

And so I immediately called Jeff Lomonaco, my chief of staff, who was glad to know that I was safe and gave me the information.

The governor had reached out to me very, very early in the morning to let me know about this attack. It took us a while, of course, to piece together exactly what had happened and to, you know, the devastating news that Melissa and her husband, Mark, had died in this attack.

And it as the as the pieces came together, we were all just, you know, hoping that this -- the perpetrator of this terrible violence. This is a was clearly -- from the very beginning it was clear that this was politically motivated.

And so the worry about what else, what other terrible damage he might do was uppermost in our minds as we were waiting all day long, basically to see what was happening.

And again, hundreds and hundreds of people have been out there protecting others and making sure that people did not get, you know, caught in any crossfire and waiting to try to and seeking, trying to find this man who, as I said, is still not been found.

RAJU: Yes. And the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, said that he has asked capitol police for your security and Senator Klobuchar security to be increased in the aftermath of this shooting.

How do you feel about your own personal safety, and do you think that lawmakers in general have enough security?

SMITH: Yes. Well, I'm very grateful for Senator Schumer doing -- taking that step to make sure that my family and I are safe. And also, I spoke with Majority Leader John Thune yesterday who made a similar commitment.

I think that the level of threat that lawmakers are exposed to is just unacceptable and that we have to find a way of ratcheting down this, this just intensity that is surrounding people.

We will, you know, I'm grateful that I personally feel safe, but this is no way for our government to work when people, any number of us feel this kind of personal threat.

RAJU: Do you think that all lawmakers should have security detail?

SMITH: Well, I just I can't bear to think that it has come to that. But I think we are at a tipping point right now when we see these kinds of personal threats. It gets worse, not better.

We see -- I mean, you know, what happened here and the tragedy that's happened in Minnesota is not an isolated incident. It is something that we have been seeing increasingly.

And of course, it was only just a few days after my colleague Alex Padilla was literally thrown to the ground and handcuffed for showing up at a press conference. I'm not in any way conflating those two things, except to say that the level of just sort of the intensity of what lawmakers are exposed to is -- it just strikes me as being very dangerous. So I don't want to think that I need to have a personal security

detail wherever I go. But I think we really have to look at the situation that we're in.

RAJU: Yes, no question about it. Well, Senator Smith, we really appreciate you coming on and taking the time and speaking to us. I know this is such a difficult day and you know them so well. So we really appreciate you talking about your feelings and what happened here.

SMITH: Thank you so much, Manu.

RAJU: Thank you.

Coming up, what President Trump's travel ban could mean for the world's biggest sporting event. That's next.

[08:48:29]

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RAJU: This week, FIFA celebrated one year until millions of soccer fans will descend on 16 cities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico for what's expected to be the largest World Cup ever. But amid the excitement, there is concern over how the Trump administration's travel ban could impact the tournament.

Of the countries on Trump's list: Iran has already qualified. And while there's a travel ban exception for the team, their fans would be left on the sidelines.

And this morning, "The Washington Post", citing a State Department memo, is reporting the U.S. Is considering restricting entry to citizens of 36 more countries.

Now, the president of FIFA said this week he was working with the administration to make fans feel welcome.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Just talk to us about what sort of conversations you're having with the administration about that to ensure that fans can come to the games.

GIANNI INFANTINO, FIFA PRESIDENT: Well, you know, we have we have some really good conversations with the administration. America is a welcoming country. America is welcoming the world this year for the club World Cup.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: For those countries not impacted by the travel ban, Secretary Rubio said last month that the State Department was looking to increase staffing at embassies to help with the months' long delays for visas. But Democratic Congressman Rick Larsen, who co-chairs the Congressional Soccer Caucus, told me, quote, "The United States" is perilously close to becoming being unwelcoming to all soccer fans who want to come here for the single largest sporting event in the world.

And although his Republican counterpart, Darin LaHood, told me he was, quote, "not concerned" about the possible impact a travel ban may have, adding, quote, "majority of the countries listed on the travel ban will not qualify".

[08:54:51]

RAJU: All of this comes as FIFA held their first World Cup tournament, Club World Cup tournament, which started last night in Miami. It was a tie game zero - zero, giving the organization and White House a test run in addressing some of those concerns.

That's it for INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY. You can follow me on X @mkraju. Follow the show @INSIDEPOLITICS and follow me on Instagram @manu_raju.

If you ever miss an episode, just catch up wherever you get your podcasts and search for INSIDE POLITICS.

Up next, "STATE OF THE UNION WITH JAKE TAPPER AND DANA BASH". Dana's guests include Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, former Vice President Mike Pence, California Senator Alex Padilla, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

Thanks again for sharing your Sunday morning with us. Wishing all the dads out there a very Happy Fathers' Day, including my own.

We'll see you next time.

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